New research reveals devastating impacts of Hudak's 100,000 province-wide job cuts in Windsor

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 22, 2014) - New research shows that Hudak's proposed cuts of 100,000 public sector jobs would have devastating effects across the province and lead to skyrocketing unemployment rates for many communities.

The job cuts will introduce new and substantial threats to Windsor, which will face an estimated 3,964 job losses, resulting in a 2.4 percent increase in the unemployment rate. The consequences of Hudak's ill-conceived plan will leave the city and its population burdened with a 10.8 percent unemployment rate.

"This research points to the danger of Hudak's brash schemes. Especially in smaller- and medium-sized communities outside Toronto, economies and peoples' futures will be seriously threatened; it will take years to recover," warned OFL President Sid Ryan.

"Hudak's plan will devastate families and communities that are already struggling," said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. "They'll mean more hospital bed closures and fewer supports in schools for children. They will mean longer wait lists for vital public services such as child care, developmental services and long-term care beds. We need more jobs and public services, not Hudak's cuts."

This research also accounts for the impacts that public sector job losses would have on employment in the private sector. "Local businesses and downtowns will be the first to feel the pain. People without paychecks necessarily watch their pennies carefully, and it is a given that when these workers lose their jobs, they will not be contributing to the local economy as they once did," said Ryan.

The research was conducted by CUPE Senior Economist Toby Sanger. The job loss and unemployment numbers were calculated using the most recent detailed data on employment by industry and occupation for Ontario communities from the National Household Survey and the Labour Force Survey, excluding sectors that would not be affected. It also takes into account the spinoff job losses that would be experienced in the private sector using a standard economic jobs multiplier of 0.67.

The summary below documents the estimated impacts of Hudak's proposed 100,000 public service job cuts in towns and cities across Ontario: